280 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Luminosity of Glowworms.* — Dr. H. Muraoka lias studied tlie phy- 
sical character of this light. In its natural state it behaves like ordinary 
light. The filtered rays, like Becquerel’s fluorescence rays, seem to 
have characters midway between ultra-violet rays and Rontgen rays. 
Seasonal Dimorphism in African Butterflies.! — Mr. A. G. Butler re- 
turns to his thesis, in answer to some criticisms by Mr. G. A. K. Marshall.^ 
His point is this : — “ In a country which is hot and dry throughout the 
year, wet-season forms will be naturally extremely rare (if present at 
all), whereas the reverse will be the case in a uniformly moist climate. 
Now, where a species ranges throughout Africa to Arabia, it exhibits 
in one locality a single type (say dry-season), and perhaps in abnormal 
seasons, when light showers fall, a second type (intermediate between 
dry and wet) ; or, if the country be moist, a wet-season and an inter- 
mediate-season form occur, but no dry-season form.” 
Zeuzera iEscu!i.§ — M. Laboulbene describes the caterpillar of this 
butterfly. It is a borer and wood-eater, and has been doing much damage 
to trees in Morocco. 
Optic Lobes of Bee’s Brain. || — Mr. F. C. Kenyon gives an account 
of the minute structure of these bodies. It is too complex to be profit- 
ably summarised without a diagram ; but the following sentence may be 
cited : — •“ It appears that, setting aside the outer or retinal elements, 
there are concerned in the transmission of visual stimuli to the central 
portion of the brain some six or seven neural elements, and that such 
stimuli may reach (1) the optic body, (2) the mushroom bodies, and 
(3) the hinder lower portion of the brain, and that they may pass over 
one or other of the optic commissures — provided the upper one is a real 
commissure — to the inner fibrillar body of the opposite lobe, and thus 
indirectly reach the mushroom bodies, the optic bodies, and the posterior 
region of the brain on the opposite side.” 
Danish Galls.1T — Sofie Rostrup gives a list of the Danish gall-forming 
animals and of the plants infested. The list includes, besides insects 
{Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Phytophthires), a 
number of Acarina and Nematoda. 
Odonate Nymph from a Hot Spring.** — Mr. D. S. Kellicott notes 
the occurrence of dragon-fly nymphs in a hot spring. The exact tem- 
perature at the time and place of capture was not ascertained, but the 
water in the pool (45 ft. long) was near the boiling point at one end, as 
low as blood-heat at the other. Some of the nymphs were taken at the 
hottest part of the pool. As the larvae are carnivorous, other animals 
must be present. 
Mouth-Parts of Insects.f f — Dr. J. B. Smith has studied the develop- 
ment of the mouth-parts in a large number of insects. As to the labial 
structures, he concludes that mentum and submentum may unite and 
* Journ. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Japan, ix. (1897) pp. 129-39. 
t Trans. Entom. Soc. London, 1897, pp. 105-11. f Op. cit., 1896, p. 551. 
§ Bull. Soc. Nat. d’Agriculture de France, Ivi. (1896) pp. 646-52. 
H Amer. Nat., xxxi. (1897) pp. 369-76 (1 pl.). 
^1 Yidensk. Med. Kjobenhavu, 1896, pp. 1-64. 
** Journ. Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist., xix. (1897) pp. 63-5 (2 figs.), 
ft Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., ix. (1897) pp. 175-98 (3 pis.). 
